Nigerians have been given the assurance by the Federal Government that from next season, there would be plenty of food in the country.
The FG, through the Minister of State for Agriculture, Heineken Lokpobiri, made this known on Monday while speaking with State House correspondents after he led a foreign agro-investor, Wells –San Carlos Agro Farms Ltd., on a courtesy visit to Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
According to him, the current high cost of foodstuff due to the lack of investment in agriculture in 2015 due to the change in government.
He gave an instance with the scarcity of rice and the price hike to about N25,000 a bag.
“But this year, the President (Buhari) has given us all the support we have requested to see how we can support farmers the little way we can.
“So that we can give people access to credit, fertiliser and seed to grow sufficiently for our own consumption and export,” said the Minister.
Lokpobiri also noted that the dependence of other West African countries on Nigeria had also contributed to the high cost of foodstuff in the country.
On the nation’s rice programme, he said, the ambition of the administration was to be self-sufficient in rice production by 2018/2019.
According to him many programmes have been put in place including the `Anchor Growers’ Scheme’ in Kebbi State.
Lokpkobiri added that the Federal Government had set up a task force headed by the Kebbi governor to multiply rice and wheat production.
He said the Ministry is also trying to create some funds to implement the borrowing system of Kebbi to see how people can borrow to cultivate over 1,000 hectares.
“This is so that we can produce as much as we can and satisfy our local needs by 2018/2019,” He added.
On the visit of the Mexican investors, he said it was to further encourage the company which has plans to cultivate about 9,000 hectares.
He said the firm was one of the leading farmers in the world and had come to Nigeria to partner the government to see how it could create commercial farms in Nigeria.
“It is not only to satisfy our local market but also to export, so that we can also substitute in agro dollars the petro dollars and also to create jobs.
“This farm alone is going to create about 85,000 jobs.
Lokpkobiri said that this is done to ensure that the government achieve its objectives in agriculture and food sufficiency in the shortest time possible.
